SEPAC Surveying Special Education Experiences in LPS

Survey looks to gauge experience of families of students receiving special education services.

Special education has grabbed its share of the spotlight in recent months following the revelation earlier this year of the usage of seclusion rooms within the Lexington Public Schools. A little more than two weeks after allegations of mistreatment of young students with special needs surfaced, the district’s Special Education Parent Council began discussions about a parent survey. An online survey, which included input from the School Committee and district administration, went live earlier this week, and SEPAC members are hoping responses will come in by Tuesday, Nov. 27. “This is a chance for parents to be heard,” said Jennifer Yaar, co-president of SEPAC. “If you’re happy, if you’re not happy, if you’re somewhere in between, we want …

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Five Things: LCE Takes On Work-Life Management for Dual Career Couples

A quick look at the things you need to see, do and know today in Lexington.

1. Work-Life Management for Dual Career Couples: While the vast majority of women - and men - report wanting to pursue their careers while fully sharing family and home care with their spouses, in practice many struggle to make this a reality. In this interactive session, hosted by Lexington Community Education at 7 p.m. tonight at Lexington Depot, Lisa and Bryan Levey will share strategies for creating a partnership approach to work and family management while raising children. Costs $10 and pre-registration is strongly recommended. To do so,call LCE at 781-862-8043 to register using a MasterCard or VISA.  2. The Healing Power of Mindfulness: Using the Wisdom of the Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness: At 7 p.m. tonight at Cary…

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Is Lexington Getting Over Its Special Education Saga?

There was low turnout and few questions at a SEPAC-hosted panel discussion on Tuesday, Oct. 9, but a forthcoming survey from the Special Education Parent Council will offer parents of students with special needs a chance to weigh in more anonymously.

  As the minutes ticked past the 7 p.m. start time, SEPAC and the superintendent decided to call an audible. Their game plan going in to the Oct. 9 meeting called for a panel discussion for the Special Education Parent Advisory Council and school administrators to respond to concerns following the publication of an unsettling piece penned by a former Lexington parent and the subsequent flurry of allegations of mistreatment of special needs students. However, with about two-dozen gathered in Clarke Middle School's auditorium, and probably half of them SEPAC members or staff, the panel shifted from the stage down to the floor to encourage more of a two-way conversation. That this meeting, a follow-up to a previous iteration on Sept. 20, drew…

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Five Things: SEPAC Panel Discussion Tonight

A quick look at five things you need to see, do and know today in Lexington.

1. SEPAC Panel Discussion Tonight: Lexington's Special Education Parent Advisory Council is scheduled to meet from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at Clarke Middle School and its agenda includes a panel discussion "to address parental questions/concerns about the Lichtenstein New York Times Op-Ed piece and subsequent district discussions regarding behavior plans and other related topics. Expected panel members from Lexington Public Schools include Superintendent of Schools Paul Ash, Linda Chase, the director of student services, and ABA Coordinator Laura Dudley. 2. Adams Street Will Stay Open Today: Lexington's Engineering Division last week announced that, weather permitting, a portion of Adams Street will be closed for paving today, Oct 9. Well, the…

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Lexington's SEPAC Sizing Up Special Education Survey

As LPS officials deal with allegations of past mistreatment within the special education program, their liaison to parents -- the Special Education Advisory Council -- is gearing up to survey the parents of students with special needs.

A little more than two weeks after allegations of past mistreatment of students with special needs in the Lexington Public Schools surfaced and sent shockwaves across the community, the district’s Special Education Parent Council is responding with plans to survey its constituents. The council held a preliminary discussion of those plans on Thursday, Sept. 27, during a mid-morning meeting in the lower level of Cary Hall. While the particulars are still in the development stage, the general vision is to survey Lexington families with children on individualized education programs (IEPs) or 504 plans about their satisfaction with the district, as well as any concerns, problems or communication breakdowns. According to Ann Wolf, co-chairwoman …

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Five Things: An Evening With Galway Kinnell

A roundup of five things to see, do and know today in Lexington.

1. Lexington Community Education Presents: An Evening with Poet Galway Kinnell: Throughout his five decade career, Galway Kinnell has won numerous awards and been called "America's preeminent visionary" and now Lexington Community Education is bringing him to Lexington Depot, at 7 p.m. tonight. Costs $10 and pre-registration is strongly recommended -- call LCE at 781-862-8043 to register using a VISA or Mastercard. 2. SPEAC and Request for Parent Survey: The Special Education Parents Advisory Council is scheduled to meet at 10:30 a.m. this morning at Cary Hall, and its agenda includes theLexington School Committee request for parent survey and a review of upcoming events and communications planning. 3. Other Public Meetings: According to …

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School Committee's Sept. 20 Statement on Special Education

The following is the text of a Sept. 20 statement regarding allegations of mistreatment within the special education program of the Lexington Public Schools, as provided by School Committee Chairwoman Margaret Coppe.

  Providing a safe and protective environment for all of our students is the absolute paramount priority for the Lexington Public Schools. When the School Committee members first read the op-ed column that appeared 10 days ago in the New York Times, we were as stunned as everyone. The detailed descriptions about the young student, from six years-and-a-half ago, were very disturbing. State law requires that the School Committee meet and deliberate in public and provide 48 hours public notice. Our meeting on Sept.11, two days after the op-ed appeared, was the first time that we were able to discuss as a committee the issues raised in that article. Members of the community joined us in Cary Hall to hear from the Superintendent and Director of…

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Seclusion Rooms Only Part of the Story

A third Lexington family has shared its special education story and asked for an independent investigation into the treatment of their 17-year-old son when he was a young student with special needs.

This past weekend, 17-year-old Robert Ernst had plans to visit Cornell University, where he might like to study entomology next year after graduating from Lexington High School. But, listening to the way his story begins, it sounds as though this high school senior’s road through LPS to the Ivy League has been rockier than most.  Ernst is a member of the third local family to come forward with allegations of mistreatment of young special needs students in the Lexington Public Schools. More to the point, he is the one alleging the abuse.  According to him and his mother, Wendy Ernst, Robert was put on an individualized education program (IEP) since pre-school, but wasn’t diagnosed with Asperger’s until fifth grade. During the intervening …

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In Seclusion Room Saga, LPS and Lichtenstein Read and React

The call and response renewed this weekend when the New York Times attached an editor’s note to the former Lexington resident’s op-ed alleging the mistreatment of his daughter by the Lexington Public Schools.

  For the past week or better, the Lexington Public Schools-Bill Lichtenstein seclusion room saga has been ongoing game of read and react. It started on Saturday, Sept. 8, with the publication by The New York Times of an op-ed Lichtenstein wrote, which painted a scary picture of the treatment of his daughter when she was a kindergartner in the Lexington Public Schools. The district’s administration and officials read, and reacted. In a prepared statement and then again speaking publicly at a School Committee meeting last Tuesday, Superintendent of Schools Paul Ash said his review of the case did not match up with Lichtenstein’s claims. Lichtenstein responded to that response, as did many Lexington residents. Though the superintendent has …

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New Developments in LPS Seclusion Room Saga

Another family has come forward alleging a special needs student was left alone in time out rooms; DA’s office confirms involvement.

  A third Lexington family has come forward and asked that their case be included in a state investigation into the alleged mistreatment of special needs students within the Lexington Public Schools. Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office on Thursday confirmed the office was looking into a complaint associated with the seclusion room allegations, but could not comment about the specifics or who filed it. That confirmation came a day after Lexington Superintendent Paul Ash said the district filed a 51A with the state’s Department of Children and Families following public calls for an independent investigation into allegations made in an opinion piece published last weekend in the New York Times. In the OpEd, …

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